Fla. governor to suspend sheriff who was in charge during Parkland shooting response

BSO sheriff details official timeline of events during Parkland school shooting

Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel details the official timeline of events during the Marjory Stoneman Douglas school shooting on Feb. 14, 2018.

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Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel details the official timeline of events during the Marjory Stoneman Douglas school shooting on Feb. 14, 2018.

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Gov. Ron DeSantis has been slowly spelling out Broward Sheriff Scott Israel’s fate all week, indicating in a series of press gaggles that he was likely considering the embattled politician’s removal and vetting replacements.

By Wednesday, Florida’s new governor had made it to S-U-S-P. On Thursday, the E-N-D was nigh.

DeSantis announced in the evening that he plans to visit BSO’s Fort Lauderdale headquarters Friday afternoon to “make a statement on holding government officials accountable.” DeSantis will be accompanied by Lieutenant Governor Jeanette Nuñez and Attorney General Ashley Moody.

The governor’s press office did not respond to a request for comment, and Israel did not respond to a text message. But according to a source familiar with DeSantis’ plans, the governor will announce during the appearance that he is suspending Israel and will name his replacement.

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DeSantis, according to the source, intends to name retired Coral Springs Police Sgt. Gregory Tony as Broward’s interim sheriff. Israel’s suspension and Tony’s selection were first reported by Politico. The announcement is scheduled for 3 p.m.

Tony, 40, is president of Blue Spear Solutions, a security company that according to its website specializes in active shooter and mass casualty training. The company trains “both private and public sector stakeholders in tactics, techniques, and protocols that will increase victim survivability rates under these violent occurrences.” Tony, who is black, has a master’s degree in criminal justice from Nova Southeastern University.

Israel has been telling subordinates all week that he expects to be suspended. Should he wish to fight his suspension, the Florida Senate would conduct a hearing.

He has been under heavy criticism over his agency’s response to the Feb. 14 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, where 17 students and faculty members were were killed and another 17 wounded by a former student who came onto campus with a high-powered rifle. Israel has said he will fight to keep his elected post if removed by the governor, who under law can suspended an elected official for corruption or issues involving negligence or incompetence.

A report recently issued by a commission convened by the state government to investigate the response to the shooting was highly critical of BSO, finding that not only did the deputy assigned to the school fail to try and stop the massacre, but responding deputies were slow to respond and ill-trained, and in some cases gave investigators conflicting and untruthful information.

The commission also took issue with Israel’s decision to change the agency’s active shooter policy so that deputies “may” confront an active shooter, rather than “shall,” and found gaps in law enforcement’s response to dozens of calls and reports about shooter Nikolas Cruz’s troubling behavior.